Springwood cyclist Amanda Spratt helped Orica-AIS win a silver medal in the women's team time trial at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain on September 21.
But like any great achievement it meant even more because of overcoming adversary along the way.
After crashing and breaking her collarbone during a race in Italy in April, the 27-year-old Olympian had a plate, six screws and a pin inserted and was out of cycling for two months.
"That was a big blow at the time because I'd had a really strong start to the European season and it also put me out of contention for Commonwealth Games selection, which was one of my biggest goals for the year," Spratt said.
"I struggled with my form and consistency for quite some time and the rest of the season really didn't go to plan, so to finish off with a silver medal at the World Championships was really special."
Spratt and teammates Annette Edmondson, Emma Johansson, Jessie MacLean, Melissa Hoskins and Valentina Scandolara finished the 37km course in 44 minutes and 50 seconds - just 77 seconds behind gold medalists Specialized-Lululemon.
It was an improvement on Orica-AIS' bronze medal result at last year's World Championships and Spratt feels the team is slowly closing the gap to their arch-rivals.
“At our last big hit out in mid-August we finished over three-and-a-half minutes behind them but we prepared well for the Worlds and we were able to get everything right on the day and put all our hard work to good use.
“The 37km course was very fast so we were able to average 50km/h for the race but there were also some technical sections with corners and round-abouts and a 2km climb near the end.
“My job was to contribute equally during the first 15km and then save a bit of energy so that I could pull longer turns leading into the climb and allow the rest of my team to arrive fresher for the final 5km.
“It was a real sense of satisfaction and achievement not only for us but for our staff and I was so proud to be able to stand on the podium with my teammates.
“Cycling is a team sport but usually only one person can get the final result and stand on the podium, so that is what makes the team time trials extra special.”
Spratt will now enjoy some rare time off in Europe before basing herself in Springwood in November and December to train and prepare for the Australian Championships in January.
She will then return to Europe to represent Orica-AIS in the northern Europe Classics season.
“2015 will be an important year for me in terms of looking at qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, so I need to be in top condition heading into the season.”